Budget Blues: Hwang Breaks Down the State Budget

Cut.

One word held two meanings Wednesday night in Trumbull's  auditorium.

Cut spending, but don't cut money for hospitals. Cut taxes, but not health care.

Cutting money from hospitals in the hopes the federal government would return it with interest was the main topic of the forum as several Bridgeoport Hospital officials rallied against what they called a "hospital tax."

Republican State Reps. Tony Hwang and T.R. Rowe and Sen. Anthony Musto, D-Trumbull, each addressed speakers' questions, including the doctors' concerns at the "Town Hall" meeting.

"The state already underpays hospitals and these additional cuts would be devastating," said Dr. Andrew Kenler, a general surgeon and Bridgeport Hospital employee.

In addition to serving the community, the hospital employs more than 120 people and 60 doctors live and/or have offices in Trumbull, he said.

"Bridgeport Hospital provides the highest quality of service to the residents of Trumbull and we want to enhance and maintain and also improve that quality," he said, adding the hospital could lose up to $6.8 million under Gov. Dannel Malloy's proposed budget.

Rowe said he opposed the measures taken regarding hospitals. "I continue to oppose it," he said. "You're not going to get a dollar back on the dollar."

Musto disagreed. "It is supposed to bring us more money," he said, adding, "I just received some information that may change my mind."

"I wouldn't support anything that doesn't" bring in more money, he said.

Kenler called Musto's argument "specious."

"Wouldn't it make more sense not to tax the hospital and to look for a different revenue source?" he asked.

Hwang said the proposal hurts hospitals that are efficiently run by removing their funding. "At the end of the day, it's another tax," he added.

Musto said the state's financial problems are the result of several years, and that there is no single solution. Firing all state employees, who make up one-sixth of the budget, would not be enough to close the budget gap, according to the senator.

Kathy Coarse, manager of Bridgeport Hospital's outpatient clinics, returned the discussion to clinics, which serve many of the regions uninsured and underinsured. 

Cuts to uncompensated care money pool "shreds the safety net," she said.

Musto said the "fat" in the budget must be identified before it can be trimmed. It also needs to be done smartly, he added.

Resident Howard Swanson asked about longevity payments. Hwang said the longevity payment system was started in the 1960s, when state workers did not earn as much.

Hwang said he has raised the issue every one of his three years but it has not gotten far.

Brian O'Connor called for a more business-friendly state. "It's the private sector that creates wealth," he said.

Other speakers praised the republicans while criticizing Musto, who said nearly everything has been cut and municipal aid would be next.

Trumbull businessman Jeff Wright said deeper cuts are necessary. "We're broke. There's no more money. Everything I've heard is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

"The trend is your friend," he continued. "If we follow that [increasing spending] graph, where shall it take us? I don't think there's jobs to be had. The people that pay the bills in Connecticut are leaving."

 "Cut programs? Yes, cut them. I don't care. I didn't make this mess," he concluded.

Resident Marilyn Mitchell, of Ladies for Liberty of Trumbull, cited New York's deep cuts. "If New York can do it, why can't Connecticut?" she asked.

Before the public commented, Hwang presented a current spending breakdown.

• Since 1987, state spending has increased by 287.5 percent while the state's population has stayed flat and the number of state employees has grown by 25.3 percent.
• He predicted deficits of about $3 billion annually over the next several years.
• The biggest funding sources are personal income taxes, $6.6 billion; sales and use tax, $3.2 billion; and federal aid, $4.1 billion, a total of 69 percent of the budget.
• The state is spending $2.1 billion for employee retirement benefits; $4.1 billion for education; and about $4 billion for social services and social programs. In total it is 53 percent of the budget.

Malloy's budget proposal adds a host of new taxes and relies on uncertain union concessions to close the gap, Hwang said.

While he didn't want to project "doom and gloom," he said a balance needed to be struck.